Welcome to the Colorado backcountry

The vast acreage of wilderness and backcountry beauty in Colorado make it one of the more popular locations for camping, backpacking, and day-hiking.

In addition to a eight National Parks and Monuments, Colorado boasts an equal number of Wilderness Areas, millions of acres of National Forest and BLM land, and over three dozen state parks.

From mountains to deserts, and grasslands to canyons, one could spend a lifetime hiking the trails of Colorado and not cover all of them.

Cathedral Lake near Aspen

The Castle Creek valley, south of Aspen, Colorado is host to several great trails.  One I'm eager to do again is Cathedral Lake.

The trail is moderately steep and rocky, but not difficult, and hikers are rewarded with great views on the way up and a spectacular scene at the top.  The above shot was taken in late summer, when the water levels were lower.  I'm eager to do this hike earlier in the season, along with its neighbor, American Lake.

The trailhead for Cathedral Lake is not too far past the ghost town of Ashcroft, on the right hand (south) side of the road.